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Friday, June 2, 2017

Black Like Me

No, not the book by John Howard Griffin who darkened his skin to pass for black, so he could write a first person account of Southern racism. Me, after using Latex-ite Ulrashield Driveway Shield. A couple years ago, some freeranging cattle stepped into the shade of the telescope garage on freshly poured asphalt while we were on vacation. They sank in at least a half inch. That plus recent hard winters caused parts of the surface to crumble. It did not break up, just started to return to the sand and gravel which is what the asphalt cement binds together. The surface was very difficult on which to roll the telescopes and the 10' garage ladder (used for getting to the eyepiece on Big Bertha 2.0, and sometimes even for Big Bertha 3.0).

A few weeks ago, I used 20 gallons of leftover Ultrashield from another driveway repair to try and smooth some of the deeper rough spots. It worked well enough that I bought a 4.75 gallon bucket. My plan was a 1/2" layer over a 20' x 20' area where the telescopes roll at night. This wasn't enough, but getting an even layer that thick was hard, and perhaps for the best, because it might have cracked on drying.

I used a soup ladle (not from our kitchen: is that hot fudge sauce) to stir and get the first half gallon out, before pouring it. I used a tool made specifically for this to spread and even it. You are supposed to sweep the asphalt first to remove existing debris which might prevent a smooth surface and good adhesion. But sweeping does not work all that well; next time, shop vac. As it turned out, the unswept debris when mixed with the Ultrashield troweled in the deeper depressions and hoof prints, so maybe not so bad.

Last step, after the brownie mix bakes enough is to remove the duct tape against the concrete of the garage and immediately adjacent wall and door. There was some splatter higher up on the door; Goo Gone will probably solve that before my wife returns.

No, Goo Gone does nothing. This video shows how to remove tar from paint with the miracle liquid WD-40. You are supposed to let it soak first, but when I sprayed it on the spots, some started dissolving.

1 comment:

The concoctions that are stronger than Goo-Gone progress through something called Goof-Off to Bestine and then to the various thinners and acetone. Goof-Off and Bestine are not good for plastics, which may include your paint on the garage, but then acetone is definitely death on paint.